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On May 7th, ''Lusitania'' and the German submarine both entered the Irish Channel.
On May 7th, ''Lusitania'' and the German submarine both entered the Irish Channel.
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger was onm his way back to Germany when by chance he crossed paths with the ''Lusitania.'' He immediately recognized the huge ship as an unarmed passenger liner. He fired one torpedo. The torpedo was spotted, but it was too late to maneuver. After exploding it triggered a secondary, larger explosion within the ship. Due to the list of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]]), Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger was onm his way back to Germany when by chance he crossed paths with the ''Lusitania.'' He immediately recognized the huge ship as an unarmed passenger liner. He fired one torpedo. The torpedo was spotted, but it was too late to maneuver. After exploding it triggered a secondary, larger explosion within the ship. Due to the list of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]]), Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
[[Image:Lusitania.jpg|right|thumb|340px|British recruiting poster exploits the attack]]
The sinking of ''Lusitania'' was considered to be a terrorist attack against a civilian target and a dramatic violation of the standards of civilized warfare. International law, agreed to by Germany, explicitly required the u-boat to allow the passengers to escape before sinking the ship. By following the law, however, the fast ship might have escaped the slow submarine, so the captain acted to get his kill regardless of the law. German propagandists later pointed to the presence of small arms ammunition on board as a way to fool people into thinking the Germans had a shred of a case. They did not.
The sinking of ''Lusitania'' was considered to be a terrorist attack against a civilian target and a dramatic violation of the standards of civilized warfare. International law, agreed to by Germany, explicitly required the u-boat to allow the passengers to escape before sinking the ship. By following the law, however, the fast ship might have escaped the slow submarine, so the captain acted to get his kill regardless of the law. German propagandists later pointed to the presence of small arms ammunition on board as a way to fool people into thinking the Germans had a shred of a case. They did not.